“Her Point of View”

Writing only your own opinions with no mention of the person or article you are summarizing is not a good summary.

Writing only a summary with no “voice” from the summarizer is not a good summary.

Balance what the original author is saying with the your own focus.

Must be true to what the original author says while emphasizing aspects that interest you, the writer of a summary.

Balance is being respectful of the other while summarizing in light of your own perspective.

Summarizing is a demonstration of respect.

You suspend your own beliefs for a time to listen to the other.

This is the “believing” stage. Try to see who the other is and what she

believes. The reader of your summary should not be

able to tell whether you agree or disagree with the ideas of the author.

A good summary tells the reader enough about the article, so that he can discern the ideas of the article independent of you.

leads to a weak summary. leads to expressing a cliché and not the

ideas of the author. leads to writing something that you have

already heard or read. leads to perpetuating biases and

preconceptions.

A summary has your slant or spin to it as well as doing justice to the author.

When writing a summary, you have joint custody of the article with the author.

demonstrates walking in the shoes of the author while reflecting your own voice.

is a delicate balance that takes practice.

Use verbs that fit the action. “he says” “it talks” “he discusses” are just

boring with no action Action verbs are argue, assert, believe, claim, observe verify, support, agree, acknowledge advocate, demand, urge, recommend

Present major points, omitting details A summary sentence begins the summary

paragraph, a topic sentence. No opinions just your “voice” Cite the source being summarized in MLA

format Maximum – 125 words

Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say, I Say. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.

Ramage, John D. et.al. Writing Arguments; A Rhetoric with Readings. Third Edition. New York: Pearson Education, 2004.

Coyner, Sandra. Professor Emerita, Southern Oregon University